(It’s been awhile, so if you don’t remember here’s Part 1 of this 3 part story.)
My last memory was “feeling funny/strange.” I knew something wasn’t quite right but tried hard to push through. I’ll not do that again. I’ll just lay down on the ground/floor, stop the vehicle, get out, lay on the ground.
I entered the grocery around 2:40 p.m. and was in the ambulance by 3:05 – 3:10. I have no memory of those 25-30 minutes. That’s pretty dang scary.
My brain literally stopped for almost 30 minutes of my life. I have nothing. Nothing at all.
I “woke back up” when being loaded into the back of an ambulance with a young lady asking me, “You’ve had a seizure, what hospital do you want to go to?”
“I don’t want to go to the hospital. Where am I?”
“That’s the reason you need to go to the hospital…. two minutes ago you didn’t know who the President was.” Hmmmm…. to myself…. I didn’t remember hearing the question.
I was literally in that state of confusion. That’s a horrible state to find yourself in. It’s scary guys.
At this point I’m starting to remember….
I went to the grocery. I was ok. All of a sudden I wasn’t ok. Store video probably shows me stopping a couple of times and bending over – I never asked to see the video but I remember now. When that voice inside you says, “Something’s not right “LISTEN to IT!” It’s a real thing! At least sit down or just lay down on the ground.
She continues, as I’m regaining my awareness. “What hospital?”
“Ok I don’t want to go to the hospital and I need to call my husband.” My purse is in my Jeep and my phone is in there. I need my phone.” I had walked into the store with my debit card, Dr Lic, and keys. She had all that in a zip loc baggie with my bloody ball cap. (Dang it! Ruined my favorite ball cap!!)
Again, we’re only a month into COVID-19…. and she’s using my license to write down my pertinent info. “So you’re from TX? What are you doing in SC? Visiting family and got stuck here because of the Pandemic? Where are you going? How long are you going to be here?
For anyone reading who doesn’t know… TX is our legal residence but we don’t reside in TX. We pay TX taxes, etc. spend a lot of time there, but it’s only our legal domicile. We run TX tags on the vehicles and have TX Dr. Licenses.
The other ambulance person starts wrapping my head in gauze type stuff and trying to get out of the parking lot.
“I need my purse, out of my Jeep, to get my phone, and call my husband.”
I repeated that same statement three times. The last time was very slow and paused between every other word. “I… need… my purse… out of my Jeep…” that kinda talk.
Next thing I know my purse is on my lap and I’m being told to CALL YOUR HUSBAND!
I did.
Ring Ring…. “Hey What’s Up… Everything Ok?”
“Not really… I passed out at the store, gashed my head, and I’m on the way to Piedmont Medical Center via ambulance, they say I had a seizure. You need to get to Piedmont Medical Center quick please.”
With my head all bandaged up I remember hearing the call to the hospital.
“Yea Piedmont, we have a 56 yr old WF enroute, full head trauma, BS 67 and BP 188/98. She needs to come in stat. Advise.” I’m thinking full head trauma??? Really guys, it’s a 1″ gash.
“We’ll be waiting for her.”
Of course they were – look at those numbers – I thought my heart was going to explode but I was scared beyond belief! I cut this part of the story a little short but I actually argued with the ambulance people a couple of times but they won out. Who wants to go to the hospital, 45 miles from the epicenter of the SC break out of COVID-19???
The trauma unit folks were PPE’d up… standing in a line… probably 12 of them, waiting on me to arrive. PPE, face mask, under face shields, gloves, coverings, etc. They were literally covered head to toe (shoes included).
Professional people around me checking me for broken bones, looking at my head, my pupils, taking blood pressure, blood sugar, slapping sensors on my chest, hooking up IV’s, checking my temperature, and listening to my lungs.
Based on stuff I’d been hearing and seeing in the news…. temp’s and lungs were big issues, right?
The main “head trauma” Dr. walks in, introduces himself and starts messing with my head. With no warning…. I hear and FEEL a staple gun on my head! A few staples later he says, “They come out much easier than they go in… we’re going to take you to X-Ray now and get a CT Scan done to see if you have a concussion.”
Trapper had gotten to the hospital but wasn’t allowed entry. He did call me though to explain and I was able to send my purse out to him via a really sweet nurse.
I was taken to X-Ray and they determined no concussion, which I totally disagreed with and still do. I couldn’t move myself from the gurney to the X-Ray table… a second use for sheets, I guess. Sheets made the transition pretty easy. Those were the same ones that came off the ambulance with me because I couldn’t move myself onto the Trauma unit gurney either.
By now, my brain is in full function mode. My head is killing me! I had a headache like none I’ve ever had before in my whole entire 56 years on planet earth.
They roll me back to the Trauma room…. guy comes in asking about med’s, etc. and produces a sheet of medication I’ve been prescribed over the last 10 years and asks me “Which of these do you still take?” (Where did he get that list? I’m still not sure).
Financial girl comes in and asks for a $500 payment for the deductible…. I was admitted as an emergency, so my TX Healthcare did cover the charges although I was out-of-network. I recited my debit card number to her and she says, “You memorized your debit card info.”
I reply, “Well, yea… don’t you know yours?”
“But you came in as a full head trauma situation… you didn’t know who the President was an hour ago.”
“Hmmm…. I didn’t know who I was an hour ago.”
Head Dr. comes back in…. “We’re going to keep you for observation overnight.”
Just great.
To be continued…. in the last part…. Part 3 (since this is my past voice, it does get a little comical but I’ll insert some “in the moment notes I made.”